Stock yoke



C. J. MINTON.

STOCK YOKE.

APPLICATION FIL ED SEPT. 20,1920- 1,41 1,863. Patented Apr. 4, 1922. .ZZIT5 .Z. Q. 2.

CALVIN J. MINTON, OF GAGE, OKLAHOMA.

STOCK YOKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

Application filed September 20, 1920; Serial No. 411,402.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, CALVIN J. MINTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gage, in the county of Ellis and State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stock Yokes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

' clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to stock yokes, such as are worn by cattle and other stock to prevent them from breaking fences or doing other damage, and it is the object of the invention to provide a novel and 1mprovcd device, which is formed from wire, and having improved features of construction to enhance the utility and efiiciency thereof. I I

Another object is the provision of such a yoke embodying novel means for detachably connecting the sections thereof.

A still further object is the provision of such a device, the lower prong is pivotally suspended in a novel manner to permit the animals to graze with ease.

A still further object is the provision of a yoke of the kind indicated having wire prods of novel and effective construction.

\Vith the foregoing and other objects in View, which will be apparent as the descrip tion proceeds, the invention resides in the construction and arrangement of parts here inafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, 'wherein- Figure l is a front view of the yoke.

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 8-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the ring or link.

The yoke comprises upper and lower wire sections, including the substantially U-shaped bows 1 and 2, respectively, the ends of which at one side are pivotally connected by interengaging eyes or loops 3 at said ends. The other end of the upper bow 1 has an eye or loop 4, and the corresponding end of the bow 2 has a hook 5 in rear thereof to engage rearwardly through the eye 4.. In order to prevent accidental detachment of the hook 5 from the eye 4, a retaining ring 6 is used the same being of a size to pass over the eye 4, and the bill of the hook is curved so as to snapinto engagement with the ring when the ring is slid over the hook, thereby holding the ring in place against accidentalsliding movement, which will prevent the accidental disengagement of the hook from the eye 4. The hookis resilient in order that the ring can be manually slid out of the hook when it i desired to detach the hook 5 and eye 4 to open the yoke in removing the same from the animal. The bows 1 and 2 are thus pivotally or hingedly connected whereby either one can swing forwardly and rearwardly.

The upper bow 1 has an upwardly extending prong 7 formed by doubling the wire from which the upper section is constructed, the terminals of the wire diverging from the lower end of the doubled wire prong 7 to form thcbow 1, while the upper end of the prong 7 is bent forwardly to form a hook 8 to engage the fence or other object should the animal attempt to break'or damage the same a The prod of the upper section comprises a piece of wire 9 bent around the bar 7 in rear thereof at its lower end, and then bent downwardly and rearwardly underneath the crest of the bow 1 so as to embrace said bow and hold the bow 1 and portions of the bar 7 together, to prevent the upper yoke section from opening up or spreading, as well as retaining the prod in position. The terminals of the prod wire are bent angularly rearward to provide the spurs 11, the end portions 12 of which are flattened and cut obliquely, as at 13, to provide sharp points. These points can be readily sharpened from time to time by filing the ends of the fiattened portions 19 away on oblique lines.

The lower bow 2 is provided at its lowermost portion with a downwardly offset reduced portion 14 for pivotally suspending the lower prong 15, comprising a length of wire doubled upon itself with the terminals uppermost. The lower end of the prong 15 is bent forwardly into a hook 16 corresponding with the hook 8 to engage the fence or other object which the animal is attempting to jump or break. The terminals of the prong 15 are coiled or bent into coils or loops 1? loosely embracing the offset portion 14=to permit the prong 15 to swing forwardly and rearwardly, and said coils 17 in being disposed between the side portions of the offset portion 14 will retain the prong 15 in place and prevent sidewise displacement thereof. The coils 15 are extended into rearwardly curved spurs 18 forming the lower prod, the ends of which are flattened, as at 19, and cut obliquely, as at 20,.the same as the flattened portions 12, whereby the ,can be readily sharpened.

he. swinging movement of the prong 15 enables the animal to graze without dithculty, as the prong 15 can swing and drag on the ground. Should the animal attempt to jump the fence, the hook 1G in catching in the fence will swing the prong 15 rearwardly, thereby swinging the prod spurs 18 rearwardly and upwardly to prick the animal so that it will stop its attempt to jump or damage the fence. Likewise, should the hook Sencounter a fence or other object which the animal is attempting to pass under or: break, this will swing the upper how 1 rearwardly to cause the prod spurs 11 to prick the animal so that it will desist from further efforts. In shipping the de-. vice, the prong 15 can he swung upwardly within the yoke, in order that the device can be packed within small space with the parts thereof assembled. a

The ring or link.6, as shown in Fig. 4, comprises a doubled wire, having aneye 21 at one end, and the other terminal 22 bent at an angle to pass through. the eye, whereby the ring or link can be conveniently applied around the hook 5, and the terminal 22 then bent, as at 23, to hold the ring or loop closed, and prevent accidental disconnection.

Having thus described the invention, what isclaimed as new is 1- 1. A stock yoke comprising upper and lower bows having their terminals loosely connected at one side, the other terminal of one how having an eye and the other terminal of the other how having a hook to engage through said eye, a doubled wire ring member to embrace said hook having an eye at one end and a terminal insertahle through said eye and bendable to retain the ring member on the hook, thehook being formed to. receive said ring member and prevent it from sliding ofl of said hook, and prongs carried by said bows.

QHA stock yoke comprising upper and lower bows. pivotally connected at their ends and detachable at one side, the lower bow having a downwardly offset reduced portion between its ends at the bend thereof, and a doubled wire prong having its terminals uppermost and coiled loosely around said offset portion to permit the prong to swing forwardly and rearwardly and to retain it against sidewise displacement, said coiled portions'having rearwardly extendingprod spurs.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CALVIN J. MINTON. 

